Day Trip

On Thursday Derek and I took Aaron to see the pediatric neurologist. I felt at peace with the decision to see the specialist, and I was very thankful to have Derek come along. Our time at the doctor's office only lasted an hour, so we snuck in some shopping and lunch at Red Robin before driving home. :)

Basically, this doctor told us Aaron has childhood absence epilepsy. We already knew that, but he went into more detail than our pediatrician ever did. He answered some of our questions, but with epilepsy there are many unknowns. He told us to wean Aaron off Zarontin (medicine #1) and increase his dose of Depakote (medicine #2.) Hopefully this will help Aaron become seizure free. There is the possibility that he will still have his "blank-outs" when he's tired or sick, no matter what medicine he takes. That makes me sad for Aaron. But I know that in the big picture, we really are very blessed. This could be so much worse.

We will be praying that he grows out of this, as most children do.

Aaron wears his special shirt from Grammy to every doctor
appointment and blood test. His favorite verse is printed below
the smiley face. John 3:16

So, what does this diagnosis look like in everyday life? I took Aaron to a pool party today. Instead of dropping him off, I stayed to watch him swim. What if he blanked out in the water? I can't expect the birthday boy's parents to watch Aaron every second. But I can. He did great, and had no trouble at all. At home, I repeat myself when Aaron doesn't hear me. We've learned how important it is to get Aaron in bed on time. But we still let him stay up a bit later on the weekends. Tonight he's having a slumber party with his brothers in our family room! He still rollerblades and rides his bike. Well, not so much since it's winter. But this spring, he will be doing all the things he likes doing. He'll wear his helmet like he always has. :) Not many people will ever notice these seizures. And hopefully soon, we won't see them anymore either. Lord willing!

I have one funny before closing this post. One night I was trying really hard to get Aaron in bed. He was moving so slow! Finally I asked him why he was so slow. He replied, "Because I like turtles, and they are slow!" My silly turtle!